Beach Weekend

We got to spend this past weekend at the beach with Mason's parents, which is always a treat! We were there for less than 48 hours, but we made it count:

Games with Grandaddy on his iPad...


... running wild in the rain...



... snuggles for Sophie...



... a trip to DQ...



... lots of time in the pool...




... and of course, fun on the beach:

(photo idea credit to Kristi - thanks, Kristi - I LOVE it!!)

All around, not a bad way to spend a weekend ... not at all! :-)

Birds & the Bees?

Today, my weekly email came from baby center came for Ryan. It warned that we should start being prepared with responses, because some 3-year-olds start to inquire about reproduction around this age. Eek. Already?

Well, tonight, Ryan & I had a discussion that went something like this:

Ryan: "Mommy, if you had ten babies in your tummy you would be really big"
me: "Yes, I would definitely be really big"
Ryan: "I want you to be really big"
me: "Does that mean you want me to have more babies?"
Ryan: "Yes. Go get some babies and put them in your tummy"

I guess I don't have much to worry about yet!

9 months

Dear Kaeden,

Happy 9 months! Finally, it has been a month that has gone slowly. With our decently long trip to Ampersand and then a number of low-key weeks at home, it has been a stretched-out month, but I will not complain. You're growing up too fast anyway!


(Ryan wanted in on the tubby teddy action this month too!)


You haven't changed a whole lot in the past month, other than starting to look so old to me. Look at the way you're sitting up so tall & mature in that picture. It's crazy. Or maybe it's just that we've added a couple of new babies to our play group this month and I'm comparing you to them now. You're a giant!

Speaking of being a giant, apparently, you're not. We had your 9 month appointment this morning and you're only in the 50th percentile in weight and 25th in height. This is a big change for me from Ryan who has always been at least in the 50-75th percentile for everything! Given that you seem more athletically inclined already, I hope that you catch up :)


The trouble-making is beginning. You are constantly going for cords and paper if they are left unattended. And one day, I found that you had pulled a container of puffs out of the diaper bag, got it open, and were sitting on the floor eating them. Of course, given that this was the beginning of you being able to pick up & eat food by yourself, I was much more proud than upset!


You & Ryan continue to have a love-fear relationship. You both love being together so much and even playing and wrestling together (seriously... it is starting already!?!) but you inevitably wind up getting hurt. I can remember so many times growing up, hearing my mom say to one of my older brothers, "You just don't know your own strength" and that is already beginning in our house. Ryan loves to play with you and he usually starts out fine, but as soon as he gets really excited, he gets too rough. So, it's a fine line between letting you bond & have fun and keeping my poor Kaeden safe!

See what I mean?

You're still pulling up on just about everything, and now you're cruising all around too. You can even walk (slowly) behind a push toy, but you haven't tried standing up by yourself yet, so I don't think walking is too imminent.

You love your daddy, but you are a mama's boy through & through. You don't even like it if somebody else starts to get you ready for bed or a nap. And it appears that weaning you is going to be more challenging than Ryan. I tried giving up your morning feeding and going straight to cereal in the morning and you were not having it. You just fussed all morning until I nursed you. I guess we'll try again in a little while.

Well, I guess that's about it. I love you, sweet baby boy. Here are some 9 month old pictures!

(you cross your legs like that ALL THE TIME. I love it!)

Ampersand, part 4 - FAMILY :-)

Of course, the best part of being at Ampersand is simply all the time we get to spend with immediate and extended family. As shy as my boys might be at first, they quickly learn to bask in all of the extra attention :)

I'm sure I've said it before, but my parents are so wonderful and such a blessing - not only to me, but to my sons. The love goes both ways, and it is always a privilege for me to get to sit back and enjoy my children from a bit of a distance, as they interact with their grandparents.

The face of jealousy (or betrayal). This picture cracks me up. Nana was doing her usual "this is the way the lady rides..." with Kaeden, which she does with all of her grandsons... Kaeden is loving it, but apparently Atticus did not approve of Nana's cheating ways :)

And speaking of grandparents, here are some of my own grandmother. I am so glad she has these opportunities to get to know my boys, and vice versa.

The 4 generation photo has grown quite a bit this year!

Even though we see them quite often when we're not on vacation, we soaked up all the extra time with cousin Atticus (and Auntie & Uncle Bret of course!)

The babes had plenty of photo-shoot worthy matching outfits:

They did lots of pulling up & cruising practice together:

... walks in the double stroller (thankfully we had a net to keep all the flies off!):

...and I got some special one-on-one time with Atticus, which is pretty rare when my boys are around!

sweet kisses for Auntie Lucia!

An attempt at a cousins photo shoot... this was the best we could get of the 3 of them, but with some cropping, we got a couple cute pair ones

This is by far my favorite of the three of them from this trip, though :) Classic!

Of course, there was plenty of other family around too and we loved getting to spend some extended time with them as well!

Kaeden & Uncle Dain


My cousin, Uncle Pat, had a good bit of fun with the kiddos as well. Love you, Uncle Pat!

And, of course, there are plenty of other great photos, so to conclude this Ampersand series, here are some extras :)

As soon as we arrived, Kaeden was in full out explore & pull up mode. Where did he end up? Under the table, of course!

Atticus liked it pretty well under there too!

Atticus loved his box rides, so we decided to let Kaeden have a try. He wasn't quite as enthusiastic, but he tried to be brave :)

Playing some pool...
(sort of)

Ryan really enjoyed riding in the "OJ" ("Orange Jeep", original, I know!) so our final day, we decided to drive all the way around the lake and Kaeden conked right out!

Our dear friend Mary, who helps run the place, gave Ryan this head light. He LOVED it!

Adirondack Baby photo shoots:

So many memories... so blessed... thanks for another great year, Ampersand. You never disappoint!